Celebrating Small Wins: 3 Ideas

December 15, 2012

How do you celebrate the good things that happen at work?

Today, I had a great meeting with a senior administrator in the school. I was making a pitch for an idea that will require some resources, but has huge potential benefits – visibility, resources, learning opportunities. The project should be breakeven financially, at a minimum, but needs up front investment. The proposal was approved, even before we got to the end of the presentation.

As I walked back to the office, I felt an urge to celebrate! Most times, when something like this happens, I go back to my office and just keep working. I bottle up the happiness. “Where’s the next challenge, the next meeting?” If I do celebrate, it might be with a candy bar or a beer (which is fine, but I wasn’t craving candy, and I didn’t want to be smelling of beer for the rest of the day). This time, I did three things:

1) I sent an email to the team to share the good news

2) I picked up a small piece of candy for a colleague and her daughter

3) I phoned a friend to tell him the good news

These worked pretty well in savoring the good news. I got ready for the next challenge, but I took the time to acknowledge success and share it with others. It helps to build momentum and morale in the team – and ourselves. It just feels good!

Any other good ideas?